‘The ultimate goal is to become a household name in baking’
Former Bake Off contestant Liam Charles has his own show and big dreams, finds Georgia Humphreys
You wouldn’t believe Liam Charles is only 21years-old. Great British Bake Off contestant, cookbook writer, and now the face of his very own TV show – the Hackneyborn drama student, nicknamed Cake Boy by his friends, is ticking off lots of goals.
With his Channel 4 series, Liam Bakes, he hopes to prove that baking can bring people together, and embarks on a personal culinary crusade to share his favourite recipes, while giving an insight into his east London life.
“Everyone does music and sport and that’s amazing, but it will be nice for people like me to show people in my area there’s more to life than just that,” he says of being a role model for young people.
“Do whatever you want, as long as it’s positive.”
Here, we find out what to expect from the six episodes.
Filmed in and around east London, we will see Charles, who started baking when he was 15, take to the streets of his community to show off the street food he loves to eat when out with his friends.
Meanwhile, as he showcases easy-to-follow sweet and savoury bakes, we will also learn how he has been inspired by the people closest to him.
“There’s four recipes per episode; they’re not themed but each recipe has its distinctive identity,” says the presenter, who we also saw co-host Bake Off: The Professionals earlier this year, alongside comedian Tom Allen.
“There’s one recipe, an Ice Cream Sandwich and it’s so cool! On each side there’s a different topping – biscuits, smarties, popcorn – and ice cream between two biscuits.”
With his university pals, the excitable youngster cooks “Nacho Ordinary Tortilla Chips – a sweet take on nachos”.
Meanwhile, his nephews, aged 12 and seven, join him on camera to help make a “massive” layer cake.
His family and friends chipping in to help make the show is something Charles seems particularly proud of.
“They’re from all walks of life as well, so [it’s] very inclusive baking and cooking,” he says, adding that he loved getting to make savoury scones with his mum.
“My mum’s not a massive fan of the camera but I said, ‘Come on, you’ve got to do it’ and she was fine after the first two minutes.
Asked if he found it challenging to let cameras into his personal life, Charles is nonplussed.
“I don’t have anything to hide, it was fine. I’m so proud of my community, it was great to have it on camera.”
And Bake Off fans will be chuffed to hear that his nan, who he mentioned a lot while on the reality show, has a cameo, when she is speaking to Charles on the phone.
“It’s crazy for her, she used to buy me flour and eggs because I was on student finance,” he says.
Although witty and warm, Charles is quieter at times than I expected him to be – perhaps he’s a bit overwhelmed by the position he finds himself in.
Indeed, he says he pinches himself every day about how his life has changed since being on Bake Off, in which he finished fifth.
“At first I thought I was such a doughnut, I was like, ‘Oh Liam, why are you doing all this weird stuff?’,” he jokes when asked about watching the show back.
“You can never anticipate how people will receive you but it was mad. Every day was like, ‘I can’t believe this is actually happening’.”
The best bit about his rise to fame has been seeing his Twitter feed fill with people sharing bakes of his, that they’ve done at home (his cookbook, Liam Charles Cheeky Treats: 70 Brilliant Bakes And Cakes, was published over the summer).
With such a crazy year behind him – he feels lucky to have friends and family keeping him grounded.
“If I changed in the slightest, my Mum would tell me real quick,” he says.
Of course, Charles is far from the first TV cook to start out in his 20s – take Jamie Oliver, for example.
Does he see similarities between him and Oliver?
“Maybe in terms of being young and fresh,” he says.
For now, Charles has his studies at Goldsmiths to finish – and he’s still keen to be an actor in the future.
“Drama was my first passion before I started baking,” he says. “If it happens it happens, but in a couple of years’ time I definitely want to be in The Avengers!”
And that’s not his only big aim in life.
“The ultimate goal is to become a household name in baking. So when they say, ‘There’s Paul Hollywood, there’s Mary Berry, there’s Nigella, there’s Liam Charles...’ That’s the ultimate goal.”
“I don’t have anything to hide. I’m so proud of my community, it was great to have it on camera”
● Liam Bakes starts on Channel 4 tonight at 8pm.